ERISA News

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for victims of severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes in Tennessee. The tax relief postpones various tax filing deadlines that began December 10, 2021. Affected individuals and households who reside or have a business in Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Gibson, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Obion, Stewart, Sumner, Weakley, and Wilson counties, as well as taxpayers with records located in the covered area that are needed to meet covered deadlines, qualify for relief.

The IRS has issued Notice 2022-06, providing guidance on whether periodic payments from an individual account under a qualified retirement plan are considered a series of substantially equal periodic payments (SEPPs). Notice 2022-6 modifies and supersedes Revenue Ruling 2002-62.

January 19, 2022 – The IRS has issued Revenue Ruling 2022-3, which contains the applicable federal rates (AFR) for February 2022. These rates are used for such purposes as calculating distributions from retirement savings arrangements that meet the requirements for substantially equal periodic payments (a 10 percent early distribution penalty tax exception), also referred to as "72(t) payments."

The IRS released a new withholding form on January 4, 2022: Form W-4R, Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions. The IRS also issued a revised Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments. As a result, payers and individuals will have a new process for calculating and electing federal income tax withholding on retirement distributions. Although the IRS will not require payers to use the new and revised forms until January 1, 2023, payers may start using them in 2022.

The IRS released a draft of the 2022 Publication 15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide (Supplement to Pub. 15, Employer’s Tax Guide). This publication, as a supplement to Publication 15, contains specialized and detailed employment tax information supplementing the basic information provided in Publication 15, including information for pensions and annuities.

The Department of Labor has published in the Federal Register several inflation-adjusted penalty amounts for certain failures associated with qualified retirement plans.

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for victims of flooding and mudslides in Washington. The tax relief postpones various tax filing deadlines that began November 13, 2021. Affected individuals and households who reside or have a business in Clallam, Skagit, and Whatcom counties, and the Lummi Nation, Nooksack Indian Tribe, and Quileute Tribe, as well as taxpayers with records located in the covered area that are needed to meet covered deadlines, qualify for relief.

On January 10, 2022, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, issued a new set of FAQs. This latest set of FAQs address questions relating to COVID-19 testing and diagnosis that must be covered by group health plans and health insurance issuers without cost sharing pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FAQs require group health plans (GHPs) and health insurance issuers (issuers) to reimburse a participant or direct pay a provider for the cost of over-the-counter COVID-19 tests beginning January 15, 2022. The FAQs also provide the following information.

The IRS has announced that tax filing season will begin on January 24, 2022. The filing deadline for 2021 tax returns or requests for extension is April 18, 2022, for most taxpayers because of Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C. For taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts, the deadline to file is April 19, 2022, because of Patriots’ Day. Taxpayers who request an extension will have until October 17, 2022, to file their 2021 returns.

The IRS has issued a draft 2021 Tax Year Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). Several noteworthy items have been outlined in the “What’s New” section of the publication.